Tips To Succeed On a Video Interview


John Howell​ shares an informative, humorous post on dos and don’ts for video interviews. Stop by the Story Empire to check it out!

Story Empire

Hello, SEers. As you can see, today we are going to talk about the best foot forward position should you get the opportunity to do a video interview or presentation on YouTube or elsewhere. Before getting into the tips, let’s set the stage. You are launching a new book, and you get a call from someone wanting to know if you would like to do a video interview. Does your heart freeze? Do your palms turn to fountains and your stomach to a butterfly storage unit? If so, then you have come to the right place. There is no need for any of these feelings if you remember the tips I’m going to share.

The tips fall under one of four areas Light, Sound, Material, and Delivery. Let’s take them one at a time.

Light – I’m sure you have seen videos where you almost believe the recording is…

View original post 726 more words

Jacquie Biggar16 Comments

June #BookReviews from @JackieAshenden @SuzanneJenkins3 #amreading


Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

I should be writing, I have looming deadlines and blank pages, but the garden is calling me to slip off my shoes and read a book.

So I am 🙂

First in a bold, sexy new small-town Alaska contemporary romance series from Jackie Ashenden

Deep River, Alaska boasts a fiercely independent though small population. The people who live here love it, and they don’t much care what anyone else thinks. Until the day Silas Quinn comes back and tells them an oil reserve has been found below the town and now it’s neighbor vs. neighbor. Some want to take the money and run, while others want to tell the oil company to put its rigs where the sun don’t shine.

Hope Dawson never expected to leave Deep River. Her mom needs her. Her grandfather died and left her the local hangout to run. Her dreams of college and adventure died long ago. Until Silas comes back to town, holding the key to set her free. But freedom means she loses him again, and he’s the one she’s really always wanted.

Pre-order here

Biography

Jackie has been writing fiction since she was eleven years old. Mild mannered fantasy/SF/pseudo-literary writer by day, obsessive romance writer by night, she used to balance her writing with the more serious job of librarianship until a chance meeting with another romance writer prompted her to throw off the shackles of her day job and devote herself to the true love of her heart – writing romance. She particularly likes to write dark, emotional stories with alpha heroes who’ve just got the world to their liking only to have it blown wide apart by their kick-ass heroines.

She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband, the inimitable Dr Jax and two kids. When she’s not torturing alpha males and their gutsy heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, wasting time on social media, or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband.

My Review

Hope Dawson dreamed of grand adventures and going to college, but when her grandfather unexpectedly dies, leaving her to run the local pub and care for her mother, Hope accepts her fate.

Then a blast from the past blows into Deep River in the form of one sinfully hot Silas Quinn. But he’s not here for a reunion, he has news that could destroy the sleepy little Alaskan town.

Silas doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a town, much less taking time away from his new business to deliver news he knows is going to be poorly received. Not to mention the fact that he’s bound to see Hope again- his best friend and the woman he’s never forgotten.

This was an enjoyable read by a new-to-me author. Her descriptions of The Happy Moose (the bar) and Deep River’s citizens brought the town to life for me. There are past wounds that need healed before Hope and Silas can have a chance to see where their attraction might lead, as well as the complication of oil being found under the town and how it creates rifts among the people.

This is lining up to be a good series!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

After a fire almost destroys her house, firefighter Paul Saint lays eyes on curvy girl, teacher Emily Porter and all his imagined roadblocks to love come tumbling down.

Due to his fear of commitment, he doesn’t see marriage in his future. After moving into the old bunkhouse at Red Mountain Ranch, his new next-door neighbor gets out the binoculars and determining he’s available, sends out an SOS to all the local single women.
Paul confirms Emily is the woman for him, to the disappointment of his admirers and disapproval of his family.
Can they find happiness with so much going against them?

Biography

Get Suzanne’s newsletter and never miss a new release! Sign up at https://suzannejenkins.com

Suzanne’s Gift to You! DOWNLOAD FREE and Bargain EBOOKS
Start the first installment of Suzanne’s bestselling series, Pam of Babylon FREE!

USA Today Bestselling Author Suzanne Jenkins writes page-turning contemporary romance, mystery, and women’s fiction with passionately gripping characters that stay with readers long after they turn the last page. The Detroit Detective Stories, beginning with The Greeks of Beaubien Street are truly American with a touch of fantasy. Award winning Pam of Babylon books consistently rank in the Top 100 Best Sellers in American Drama with over 500,000 downloads.

A retired operating room nurse, Jenkins lives in Southern California.

Visit https://suzannejenkins.com where you may subscribe to an email list and receive free stories and excerpts of soon to be released books and new releases.

Like Suzanne on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/suzannejenkinswriter
and follow her on Twitter; suzannejenkins3

My Review

Paul Saint loves his job as a firefighter for Station #20 though his family would be happier if he was closer to home instead of fighting grassland fires.

He jumps at the chance to move to a small cabin on Red Mountain Ranch and looks forward horseback riding around the countryside. There seems to be an abundance of single women in the area, but Paul’s attention is caught by the lovely school teacher, Emily Porter. Now, he just has to convince her that he’s the man for her!

This is an endearing story of two people who must overcome personal issues in order to give their love the chance it deserves.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Check out all of my book recommendations on BookBub
bird riding

Jacquie Biggar21 Comments

Garden #Perspectives- #SundayStills


Hungry bee in Hot Lips Salvia

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge is all about perspectives as chosen by Terri Webster Schrandt. You can see her photos and join the challenge here.

I’ve squared all the photos for my entry for Becky’s for July Square Perspectives challenge.

We’re spending most of our day out in the garden, so I thought I’d share some of my recent photos with you 🙂

To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.

William Blake

We don’t what this is called, so we named it Dragon’s Tongue, lol
Raspberry Shortcake- a short, thornless berry bush

Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!

Sitting Bull

Our garden is small, but mighty! Here you can see strawberries, blueberries, apple, peach, and a variety of flowers hummingbirds and bees love.

Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.

Rudyard Kipling

Figs ripening

Won’t you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Don Juan-climber

Jacquie Biggar30 Comments

Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – Meet the Authors – #Poetry Miriam Hurdle, #Thriller Jacquie Biggar, #YARomance Angie Dokos


Sally Cronin​ shares reviews for Virtually Gone, as well as books by Miriam Hurdle​ and Angie Dokos​ on Smorgasbord #blog.

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

There are over 150 authors in the Cafe and Bookstore and I wanted to keep it to key pieces of information such as buying links, recent review, website and covers. However, I know that readers also like to know more about the background of authors.

In this series during June and July I will share the bios of all the authors in the cafe in a random selection. I hope that this will introduce you to the authors in more depth and encourage you to check out their books and follow them on their blog and Twitter.

Meet Miriam Hurdle

Miriam Hurdle is a multi-genre writer. She writes poetry, flash fiction, and short stories. Her poems are included in Letters to Gaia, Whispers and Echoes Issue 2, Whispers and Echoes Issue 3, and Outcast and More Words.

Music has rooted in her life. Being a soloist as a teenager led…

View original post 1,315 more words

Jacquie Biggar8 Comments

Change


Kathryn Jane shares important news about our blogging group, The Sisterhood of Suspense. We’re changing direction, changing purpose, and changing the name of our group to: Word by Word.
Stop by to read more about this journey…

Word by Word

By Kathryn Jane

“In times of change, we can resist, or we can pull up our bloomers and get with the program–because change is gonna happen whether we like it or not.”

With the world around us changing at a terrifying pace, we have decided to stop floating along with the current, and start swimming.

Who are we?

Ten authors, originally part of a group of eighteen who created the Sisterhood of Suspense for the sole purpose of sharing our romantic suspense books with readers.

Over the last few years, most of us drifted away from romantic suspense and posting on our blog became sporadic… so we had a meeting.

Turns out, even though we now publish in many different genres, we still have some very powerful stuff in common. The most important being our desire to help others, and from this an idea was born.

We’re changing direction…

View original post 141 more words

Jacquie Biggar2 Comments

Oh, Canada- #CanadaDay #Celebration


Photo by Andre Furtado on Pexels.com

Happy Canada Day!

To celebrate our country, I thought I’d put together some fun facts, videos, and a few famous Canadian quotes to share with you.

Did You Know…

  1. Some of the world’s greatest superheroes come from Canadian imaginations, including Superman and Wolverine!

2. Quebec produces more than 77% of the world’s maple syrup.

3. If you write a letter (in any language) to North Pole, Canada, H0H 0H0, Santa Claus will answer.

4. 20% of the world’s fresh water is in Canada and we have the most lakes.

5. In Banff National Park there are overpasses for wild animals- seriously!

6. 30% of Canada is covered in trees and thick forest.

7. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Canada was -63 in Snag, Yukon.

We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life.

William Osler

I truly believe that we have infinite levels of power that we don’t even know are available to us.

Michael J. Fox

We must come to the point where we realize the concept of race is a false one. There is only one race, the human race.

Dan Aykroyd

Stay safe everyone!

Jacquie Biggar50 Comments

Crazy Hearts by Tara Janzen #BookReview #RomanticSuspense


DYLAN HART IS THE SPECIAL OPS BAD BOY WITH NO PAST.
THAT’S ABOUT TO CHANGE…

Dylan had shown up in Colorado as a teenager on the run for his life. He’d left his name behind, along with any record of his existence. He had no family, no friends, and no connection to anyone in the world except the men out to find him and kill him. The last place in the world he thought they would ever look was Denver, Colorado.

He’d been right.

THE CHOP-SHOP BOYS OF STEELE STREET

Within weeks of his arrival, he’d been scooped up by a crew of juvenile car thieves, and together they became legends on the streets of the Mile High City. Years later, they are the legends known as Special Defense Force, SDF, an elite team of soldiers tasked by the United States government to protect the country from threats both near and far.
But you can never leave your past behind, and Dylan’s day of reckoning has arrived. His long, lost past is headed straight at him at 100 miles per hour in a Porsche 718 Cayman – and there isn’t anybody who can stop it.

Biography

TARA JANZEN, New York Times bestselling author, is the creator of the acclaimed Steele Street series of romantic suspense novels about a hotshot crew of former juvenile delinquents and car thieves in Denver, Colorado who grow up to become one of the U.S.A.’s most elite black ops forces. The eleven book series begins with CRAZY HOT and CRAZY COOL and finishes up with LOOSE ENDS. One of the books is on AMAZON’S TOP TEN ROMANCE LIST – LOOSE AND EASY, 2008. Three of her books are on the Romantic Times ALL-TIME FAVORITES list – RIVER OF EDEN, CRAZY WILD, and SHAMELESS.

Writing as Glenna McReynolds, she is the author of thirteen Loveswept romances, an epic medieval romantic fantasy trilogy, THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE, DREAM STONE, and PRINCE OF TIME, and a contemporary romantic adventure set in the Amazon, RIVER OF EDEN. Tara loves doing research for her books, and her love of anthropology and the natural sciences has helped her create the landscapes of her novels, from the rich historical background of THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE trilogy, to the shores of the blackwater rivers flowing through the Amazon rain forest in RIVER OF EDEN.

Photo by Cesar Perez on Pexels.com

My Review

The Steel Street gang are back!

Dylan Hart’s past comes calling when a young man who could be a young doppelganger lands in hospital with a gunshot wound.

Dylan has always known his stepfather would never give up searching for him, but thought his tracks were covered. He’d changed his name, made a new life for himself, married the woman of his dreams, and ran a highly secretive government Special Defense Force, yet the ghosts of his past haunted him still.

Now a brother he hadn’t known existed is on his doorstep and trouble isn’t far behind.

It’s time to take care of business.

This series is on my reread shelf and I was stoked to see a new edition had come out! The chop shop boys were forged together as a group of teenage misfits. They’re deadly, loyal, sarcastic heroes that you won’t be able to resist.

I highly recommend this series. They easily read as standalones, but to get the best experience I’d suggest starting with book 1- Crazy Hot

Jacquie Biggar25 Comments

The Girl in The Love Song by Emma Scott #BookReview #YARomance @EmmaS_Writes


Now a Top 100 Amazon Bestseller*At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…

Miller Stratton is a survivor. After a harrowing childhood of poverty, he will do anything it takes to find security for himself and his mom. He’s putting all his hopes and dreams in the fragile frame of his guitar and the beauty he creates with its strings and his soulful voice.

Until Violet.

No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back.

Violet McNamara’s life hasn’t been as simple as it looks. Her picture-perfect family is not so perfect after all. Her best friend Miller is her one constant and she is determined not to ruin their friendship with romantic complications.

But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?

Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, coming in 2020

Biography

Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in five languages and featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit http://www.emmascottwrites.com

RECENT RELEASES

Someday, Someday (M/M standalone)

A Five-Minute Life (standalone)

Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts #1)

Long Live the Beautiful Hearts (Beautiful Hearts #2)

COMING SOON:
A new YA/NA series of interconnected standalones, coming in 2020

“At Santa Cruz Central High, we called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys.”

The Girl in the Love Song (Lost Boys #1) : http://bit.ly/2MLnYhU
The Shadows of Yesterday (Lost Boys #2) : http://bit.ly/37BsCHh
The Last Piece of his Heart (Lost Boys #3) : http://bit.ly/2QeVlfa

You can follow me at all the places…

Super-cute NON SPAMMY newsletter: http://bit.ly/2nTGLf6

Author page: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwrites/

Reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/906742879369651/

Attribution: Amazon.com

Photo by Mark Angelo on Pexels.com

My Review

Homeless after his father deserts their family, thirteen-year-old Millar Stratton doesn’t have much faith in anyone- until he meets Violet.

Violet lives a privileged life and has never known what it means to be poor, but that doesn’t stop her from reaching a hand out to help the grungy looking boy who appears on her doorstep.

Soon, an unbreakable bond grows between the two and when Millar is diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes after a scary situation, Violet vows to watch over him.

A ball and chain of rules and diets and restrictions, needles and pills that I’d have to carry across a tightrope without a net, for the rest of my life.

The Girl in The Love Song- Emma Scott

High school is tough for the street kid, even though Millar and his mom now live in a dumpy two bedroom apartment. He’s watched Violet blossom throughout the years and it makes him proud, and jealous of every guy who tries to go out with her.

Violet doesn’t understand how she went from geek to popular kid, but it’s kind of nice to have fun her last year of high school before she starts the strenuous studies for med school. She just wishes Millar was by her side as more than a friend. Violet’s parents loved each other and now they constantly argue- cementing her fear of taking her and Millar’s relationship to the next level.

Millar is madly in love with Violet, but doesn’t dare step over the limits of their friendship for fear of pushing her away. Instead he opens his heart the only way he knows how- writing songs that allow him to pour out his feelings in the melodies.

Millar, together with a ragtag group of friends, learn that life’s lessons can knock you down, but love can change the outcome.

This book had me in tears a couple of times. It puts a spotlight on T1D (Type 1 Diabetes) and the life-threatening complications associated with this disease. My grandson was diagnosed five years ago. He’s now thirteen (like Millar) and has faced many of the symptoms described. It is my hope and prayer that one day soon a cure will be found.

Until then, I am grateful amazing writers like Emma Scott can use their platforms to shed a light on illnesses, racial diversity, sexual discrimination, and homelessness.

We need to do more to change our world.

Jacquie Biggar17 Comments

What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon #BookReview #Historical #TimeTravel @aharmon_author


An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller.

In an unforgettable love story, a woman’s impossible journey through the ages could change everything…

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time.

The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy’s long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman’s disappearance is connected to her own.

As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland’s independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she’s willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she’d find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

Biography

Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Her books have been published in eighteen languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Utah.
Amy Harmon has written thirteen novels, including the USA Today Bestsellers, The Smallest Part, Making Faces, and Running Barefoot, and the #1 Amazon bestselling historical, From Sand and Ash. Her novel, A Different Blue, is a New York Times Bestseller. Her USA Today bestselling fantasy, The Bird and the Sword, was a Goodreads Best Book of 2016 finalist. For updates on upcoming book releases, author posts and more, join Amy at http://www.authoramyharmon.com.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Book Review

Raised by a loving grandfather, Anne Gallagher is heartbroken at his death. She follows his last wishes and takes his ashes home to Ireland to spread them on the lough near the home where he’d grown up.

The moment she lands, Anne is overcome by a sense of history and tries to find out more about her grandfather’s life as a child. She has a few photos of her mother, father, and their best friend, Dr. Thomas Smith.

After visiting the graves of past members of her family, Anne rents a boat and heads out on the lough, only to get lost in a sudden fog. Frightened, she calls for help and gets shot by a stranger in a trawler.

When Anne awakens, it is to find herself in the care of a man who looks exactly like the Thomas Smith from her photos and it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it should be.

They can’t forget, they never will, the wind and waves remember Him still.

“Thomas?”

I’d called to him before. I’d screamed his name across the water until I was hoarse and hopeless. But I called to him again. “Thomas?” His name hung precariously in the air, weighty and wishful, before it teetered and fell, sinking like a stone beneath the surface. The lough whispered back with liquid lips, slow and sighing. Tho-mas, Tho-mas, Tho-mas.

Harmon, Amy. What the Wind Knows

This story shines a light on the Easter Rising, a massacre that took place in 1916 and changed Ireland forever.

“I’ve been reading about Ireland—biographies and documentaries and collections and diaries. I’ve been doing research for six months. I have so much information in my head, and I don’t know what to do with it. The history after the 1916 Easter Rising is just a garbled mess of opinions and blame. There’s no consensus.” Eoin laughed, but the sound was brittle and mirthless. “That, my love, is Ireland.”

Harmon, Amy. What the Wind Knows

While the rebellion is a key part of the book, so to is the growing romance between Thomas and Anne- a forbidden love.

Anne is from the future. How can she stay in her mother’s time period, even though it gives her the opportunity to live with her grandfather when he was a child, and Thomas?

When she makes the decision to risk all, outside forces step in to separate her from the life she truly wants.

I can’t imagine all men love their women the way I love Anne. If they did, the streets would be empty, and the fields would grow fallow. Industry would rumble to a halt and markets would tumble as men bowed at the feet of their wives, unable to need or notice anything but her.

Harmon, Amy. What the Wind Knows

I didn’t know much about Ireland’s turbulent history. What I learned is that Irish people are proud of their culture and their land. They are passionate of what they believe in and won’t give up- no matter the odds.

What the Wind Knows is a sweeping saga of love and history that proves where there is hope, there is a chance.

Jacquie Biggar30 Comments

Michelle A. Bailey’s #Romance Reader Builder #Giveaway


Romance Reader Giveaway!

Follow and like some amazing authors on social media for your chance to win some awesome romance swag! The grand prize for this contest will be:

One paperback copy of “Where the Forest Meets the Stars” by Glendy Vanderah, One paperback copy of “Once Bitten” by Linsey Hall, One paperback copy of “By a Thread” by Lucy Score, One Spa Gift Basket, One bookish coffee mug, One Gourmet Coffee Gift Set, & a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

The more you follow and like, the more chances you have to win! You can also come back everyday for special tasks that will earn you daily entry points!

Enter Here

Giveaways like the one above are an excellent way for writers to connect with new readers, and readers to win #free stuff- and who doesn’t like that?

JBIGGARBLOG

Tips To Succeed On a Video Interview


Originally posted on Story Empire:
Hello, SEers. As you can see, today we are going to talk about the best foot forward position should you get the opportunity to do a video interview or presentation on YouTube or elsewhere. Before getting into the tips, let’s set the stage. You are launching a new book, and…

challenges

Garden #Perspectives- #SundayStills


This week’s Sunday Stills challenge is all about perspectives as chosen by Terri Webster Schrandt. You can see her photos and join the challenge here. I’ve squared all the photos for my entry for Becky’s for July Square Perspectives challenge. We’re spending most of our day out in the garden, so I thought I’d share some of… Continue reading →

Jacquie Biggar11 Comments

Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – #Crime Virtually Gone: A Mended Souls Novel (High-Tech Crime Solvers Book 6) by Jacquie Biggar


Sally Cronin shares a recent review of my new release, Virtually Gone- thank you!

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Delighted to share the news of USA Today Bestselling author Jacquie Biggar’s latest release. Virtually Gone: A Mended Souls Novel (High-Tech Crime Solvers Book 6)

About the book

From USA Today Bestselling Author, Jacquie Biggar, comes a gripping techno-thriller, part of a multi-author series tied together by an interlocking cast of characters, all centered around the fantastic new promise of high technology and the endless possibilities for crime that technology offers, in a world where getting away with murder can be not only plausible, but easy…if you just know how.

Investigative reporter Julie Crenshaw stumbles upon the case of a lifetime–one that could cost her everything.

When Julie is called on to investigate a string of sexual abuse cases, she doesn’t expect to land in the crosshairs of a serial rapist. Soon she’s in a race to find the facts before a killer makes her the headline.

Detective Matthew Roy…

View original post 526 more words

Jacquie Biggar4 Comments

#TuesdayBookReview and Anniversary News This Last Chance by D.L. Finn #Supernatural #Suspense @dlfinnauthor


Six months after Amber’s sister is brutally murdered, she’s still looking for answers, and now someone is stalking her and no one believes her. Home alone with a powerful snowstorm approaching, Amber is determined to take control of the investigation by hiring a private detective, but her plans are disrupted when she finds herself snowed in with people she may not be able to trust. Meanwhile, Nester the evildwel, whose entire existence has been feeding on fear and pain, is seeking help from the angel who’s protecting Amber. Nester and Amber need answers. Can Amber figure out what’s going on with some subtle help from an angel? Will Nester find what he needs from his enemies? The worlds of good and evil clash, and the outcome will determine not only Amber’s and Nester’s fate but life as they know it.

Biography

D.L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to the Sierra foothills in Nevada City, CA. She immersed herself in reading all types of books, but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, being surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations vary from children’s books, young adult fantasy, and adult paranormal romance to an autobiography with poetry. She continues on her adventures with an open invitation for her readers to join her.

Photo by Photo Collections on Pexels.com

My Review

Heartsick Amber mourns the loss of her murdered sister and is frustrated with the lack of help from the local police force. Her mother seeks to forget in the bottom of a bottle and is no support for her daughter. Desperate, Amber turns to a private investigator for help.

Meanwhile, a war between good and evil is being waged between a society of evildwels and angels. There is a surprising plot at play that I wasn’t expecting in this suspenseful tale with evildwel Nester.

After spending generations killing and stealing souls, Nester feels a change come over him and seeks help from the angel tasked with watching over Amber.

A blizzard locks Amber at home with a group of suspicious people- one of which could be her sister’s killer. Will she survive long enough to find out the truth, and will Nester be able to stop the evildwels from taking over the world?

This story kept me guessing until the very end and hoping for Nester to overcome his dark side!

Favorite Line

“You need to move on, Amber.” That line had assaulted her ears like an eager beginner’s drum solo. She was surprised that her eardrums hadn’t burst with good intentions.

This Last Chance- D.L. Finn

This is an unexpected murder mystery with supernatural elements that add an extra layer of tension to an already suspenseful story.

Well worth the read!

It’s My Anniversary!

Thirty-six years ago this guy said, “I do” in front of God and everybody. He’s my best friend, my lover, the father of my child and grandfather to our grandson. He’s supported our family the best way he knew how, and has been my rock when life knocked me down.

We met on his eighteenth birthday and have been together almost every day since. When I am upset, he makes me laugh. When I’m frustrated, he calms me. When I’m lost, he guides me,

I will be forever grateful for the stroke of fate that brought us together- my soul mate.

Jacquie Biggar39 Comments

Home is Where the Heart Is- #SundayStills #Lifestyle


Where is your happy place?

Terri Webster Schrandt invites us to share our homes on this week’s #SundayStills challenge. You can see Terri’s photos and join in here.

For many years hubby and I dreamed of downsizing our home to an RV and traveling wherever the wind took us.

In 2012 we bought our 5th wheel garage hauler and began the process of bringing our dream to reality.

Spacious master bedroom with pull-out closet
Marble countertops and stainless steel sinks
Fireplace and entertainment center next to double-door fridge
Garage with full back screen and two dropdown queen-size beds

It took a lot to give up most of our ‘stuff’ in order to downsize to a 45 foot trailer, but we were determined.

We put the house we loved up for sale…

Our home

And gave away or sold our furniture and knick-knacks. I had a beautiful fountain outside (you can just see it at the corner of the house) but it was too big and HEAVY to bring with us. Hubby had a garage FULL of stuff to go through. Mom lived in the basement and made the decision to move with us instead of going to a senior’s apartment (Yay!), so we had to go through her things, as well.

Me on our back deck with a crabapple and lilac in the foreground

Do I miss our home? Yes. We worked hard to make it beautiful. We had the basement renovated for Mom. Ripped up the carpeting and installed gorgeous wood flooring. We removed the old, tired siding and replaced it with fresh, white vinyl siding. The deck and fencing were replaced with stronger, better versions. DH built flower beds front and back and we planted trees. It was our home.

But our dream beckoned…

We made the move to Vancouver Island, bought Mom a trailer so she could have her own space (right next door) and haven’t regretted it for a minute!

It didn’t take us long to fill up the new yard!

Jacquie Biggar38 Comments

Release Day for Virtually Gone #MurderMystery #Crime


It’s release day!

Julie Crenshaw, Connor O’Rourke, and Matthew Roy are back! Virtually Gone picks up from The Beast Within‘s police investigation of murdered young women on Victoria’s Galloping Goose Trail.

Investigative reporter Julie Crenshaw stumbles upon the case of a lifetime–one that could cost her everything.

When Julie is called on to investigate a string of sexual abuse cases, she doesn’t expect to land in the crosshairs of a serial rapist. Soon she’s in a race to find the facts before a killer makes her the headline.

Detective Matthew Roy is frustrated with his inability to track a rapist terrorizing his city. Added to that, his partner’s reporter girlfriend is dogging his every step and won’t heed his warnings. Time is ticking with the perpetrator escalating his crime to murder. Matt needs to find the killer soon, or chance losing someone he cares for- the question is, how?

★★★★★ “This author is an auto-buy for me. Each of her novels including this one is a perfect mix of angst, suspense, humor, and steaminess.”

Exclusive Excerpt

Julie sat at her computer in the madhouse that was VIBS headquarters and tried to concentrate. Something about the way Matt had avoided her questions bothered her. Of course, it was part of the dance journalists and the police did on a regular basis. Death was always awful, but this seemed… different. If only she could put her finger on it.

“Hey, Doll-face, what do you have there?” Henderson invaded her personal bubble to watch the playback of her interview with the detective.

Julie frowned at the cutesy name tag but moved aside so Ron could see. When she’d first transferred here from Chicago, the chip on her shoulder had clashed with the laid-back attitude of the station’s lead reporter. It had taken a near-death experience—her second one—to make her realize he was a good guy under all that persuasive charm.

She eyed the half-eaten donut in his hand and her stomach grumbled, reminding her she’d been running late this morning and hadn’t stopped to eat. And then she remembered why she’d been running late and smiled.

Of course, he caught the lustful look in her eyes and attributed it to his food. He shoved the thing in his mouth and swallowed it down. “Sorry, I’d share, but…”

“But you’re a pig,” she said, humor restored. “And furthermore, it was your turn to buy.”

“Hey.” He threw his hands in the air, sending grains of sugar scattering. “I did buy. They just didn’t make it through the door.” His smile was pure mischief and had the desired effect of making her laugh. “That’s better,” he said. “You were looking grim when I arrived.”

She sobered and nodded toward the screen, frozen on a seemingly peaceful bridge with broadleaf maples shading the walkway. “There was another sexual assault,” she said. “The victim didn’t survive this time.”

Ron stared at her for a moment before using his foot to tug an office chair from across the cluttered aisle to her side. He sat, knees butting into hers, and grasped her hands. “Listen, Jules, I know you want to do your job, but after what you’ve been through, maybe you should give this one a pass.”

He was talking about the ABC Killer who’d almost taken her life, of course. But he hadn’t, and it was all the more reason she needed to investigate stories like these. If she could save just one woman from the terror she’d felt, or the horror the woman today had gone through, it was up to her to do that. A calling almost. Besides, if it was Ron, he would never quit.

“I can’t,” she said simply.

On Sale for a limited time- $0.99

Virtually Gone: A Mended Souls Novel (High-Tech Crime Solvers Book 6)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085PQTV69

International: https://books2read.com/VirtuallyGone

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/virtually-gone-a-mended-souls-novel-high-tech-crime-solvers-book-6-by-jacquie-biggar

Add to your TBR List: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52329219-virtually-gone

Jacquie Biggar47 Comments

Author’s Notes: Another Terrific Opportunity!


This is an informative post on the uses for author’s notes- thank you, Marcia Meara!

Story Empire

Hi, Everybody! Marcia here, popping in from the Sunshine State. Hope you are all well and managing to cope with these difficult and confusing times, yet still finding the focus and drive to write. 

Since I’d much rather be cheering for things I like than ranting and raving about those I don’t, you might already have guessed how I feel about Author’s Notes. Yep. I’m all in favor of them. Why? Because they present a huge opportunity for writers to communicate directly with their readers.

Author’s Notes can be useful, informative, and fun, and while (as always) some readers won’t check them out, many others will.  That means you have the floor to talk about any number of things, all of which can inform, explain, entertain, educate, and even amuse your readers above and beyond what they’ve just read in your book. Entertained and amused readers are happy, and to…

View original post 1,049 more words

Jacquie Biggar5 Comments

Where the Lost Wander by @AmyHarmon #Historical #BookReview @aharmon_author


In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.

The Overland Trail, 1853: Naomi May never expected to be widowed at twenty. Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.

But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together.

When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.

Attribution- Amazon

Biography
Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Her books have been published in eighteen languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Utah.
Amy Harmon has written thirteen novels, including the USA Today Bestsellers, The Smallest Part, Making Faces, and Running Barefoot, and the #1 Amazon bestselling historical, From Sand and Ash. Her novel, A Different Blue, is a New York Times Bestseller. Her USA Today bestselling fantasy, The Bird and the Sword, was a Goodreads Best Book of 2016 finalist. For updates on upcoming book releases, author posts and more, join Amy at http://www.authoramyharmon.com.
Photo by Zetong Li on Pexels.com

My Review

Seeking a better life, widow Naomi May joins a wagon train with her family heading across the country to California. She knows it will be a tough journey but faces it with enthusiasm and a touch of trepidation.

When John Lowry agrees to help his uncle guide a wagon train as far as a fort where he is to deliver his father’s mules, he doesn’t expect to be instantly attracted to the beautiful Naomi. But their relationship is doomed to fail. He is half Pawnee, a man straddling two worlds. She is everything he wants but cannot have.

The trail is a hard taskmaster. Soon, the wagon train is faced with challenges they could never have imagined; hostile territories, lack of drinking water, dangerous river crossings, dysentery, and racial prejudice.

It’s been a long time since I was so caught up in a story. The author does a wonderful job drawing the reader into the hearts and heads of our two protagonists, John Lowry and Naomi May. We get real insights into the pride of indigenous people, the clash of two cultures, and those caught in the middle.

Favorite Lines

That’s what hope feels like: the best air you’ve ever breathed after the worst fall you’ve ever taken. It hurts.

Harmon, Amy. Where the Lost Wander: A Novel

This kiss is slow and languid like the Platte, hardly moving, while beneath the surface the silt shifts and settles. His arms snake around me, and my palms flatten over his heart, needing and kneading, and heat grows in my belly and in my heart and where our mouths are moving together.

Harmon, Amy. Where the Lost Wander: A Novel

…eventually, time thinks for us. It cuts through the fog of emotion and delivers a big bowl of reality, and feelings don’t stand a chance,” John says with bleak finality.

Harmon, Amy. Where the Lost Wander: A Novel

Where the Lost Wander is a sweeping saga of a love that knows no bounds and defies a nation at war. It’s real. It’s brutal. It’s unforgettable.

Clientmoji
JBIGGARBLOG

Change


Originally posted on Word by Word:
By Kathryn Jane “In times of change, we can resist, or we can pull up our bloomers and get with the program–because change is gonna happen whether we like it or not.” With the world around us changing at a terrifying pace, we have decided to stop floating along…

Check out all of my book recommendations on BookBub

I love having guests on the blog. If you have a new release, a sale or just want to chat, send me an email via the contact page and we’ll set something up. Hope to see you soon!

Jacquie Biggar10 Comments

Summer Thrills Fireworks Party- High-Tech Crime Solvers- #mystery #suspense #Reads


Join us: Summer Thrills Fireworks!

My author friends have joined forces to bring you a new series: High-Tech Crime Solvers

BUY NOW ON AMAZON

Join our killer party as a GOING guest for a chance to win books!

Summer Thrills Fireworks!

Jacquie Biggar5 Comments

Joy of Plants- #SundayStills #Gardenlife


Climbing Hydrangea

Sunday Stills Challenge- Plant Life

This week’s photo challenge by Terri Webster Schrandt is one after my own heart! Stop by and check out her lovely pictures here

Our garden may be small, but it’s mighty 🙂

Strawberry and raspberry beds- loaded with berries!
A mixed be of lavender, sage, Hot Lips Salvia, apple and peach trees, and more- all in a 4X4 bed!
Peony- the first one I’ve ever had bloom!
Clematis
Center of a strawberry- fascinating
Cherry tree highlighted by a gorgeous cloud cover
Figs

I better quit now, though I could go on forever. I love my garden ❤

Jacquie Biggar35 Comments

Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – Author Updates – #Reviews – #Romance Jacquie Biggar, #Romance Linda Bradley, #History #Childrens Barbara Ann Mojica


Sally Cronin shares lovely reviews from the bookstore, including one for The Sister Pact- thank you, Sally!

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Welcome to the Friday Cafe and Bookstore update with recent reviews for authors on the shelves.

The first author today is USA Today Bestselling Romance author Jacquie Biggar with a recent review for her latest book published on 14th January – The Sister Pact: Home is Where the Heart Is.

About the book

Two sisters lose sight of what’s most important- family bonds.

Holly Tremaine is living on borrowed time. A life-threatening illness ends her promising musical career and sends her home in the hope of making amends for the past.

Levi Anderson is on the fast track to a successful year within his profession- the last thing he has time for is his twin brother’s shenanigans. But when it includes the one woman Levi hasn’t been able to forget, his conscience won’t let him avoid the temptation to see her again.

Can remorse heal all wounds? Or will past…

View original post 1,037 more words

Jacquie Biggar14 Comments